NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University senior offensive lineman Tyler Compton was named a semi-finalist for the Wiliam V. Campbell Trophy. The award recognizes an individual as the absolute best football scholar-athlete in the nation and is prominently displayed inside its official home at the New York Athletic Club.
A former walk-on, Compton is a redshirt season who has started 12 career games on the offensive line, playing left guard, center and right guard. He has played in all four games this season, starting two at left guard.
A Virginia Beach native, Compton is a two-time Conference USA All-Academic selection and a two-time CoSida Academic All-District honoree.
Compton earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics in two and half years, and is on pace to receive his master's in business this spring. He completed his undergrad work with a 3.92 GPA.
The NFF will announce 12-14 finalists on Nov. 1, and each of them will receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Class, presented by Fidelity Investments. The finalists will travel to New York City for the 59th NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports. At the event, one member of the class will be declared the winner of the 27th William V. Campbell Trophy and have his postgraduate scholarship increased to $25,000.
Nominated by their schools, which are limited to one nominee each, candidates for the awards must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player or significant contributor and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship. The class is selected each year by the NFF Awards Committee, which is comprised of a nationally recognized group of media, College Football Hall of Famers and athletics administrators.